Personal Sacrifices
by gawilliams
Summary: What if there is a genuine reason for the changes in Booth this season?  This is my take on what one may be.


_I was wondering what possible, logical explanation could exist for the change in Booth, and Bones' acceptance of what is happening this season, despite her despondence over it. This is what I came up with. It's short, but I think thought provoking. I hope you enjoy it. Gregg._

_Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

Cam, Angela, and Hodgins were in the Founding Fathers after Booth had left with Hannah, and Doctor Brennan had left to go to her apartment, claiming to be tired after the long day. No one could disagree with her as it had been a long day, and a very long case. Now they were talking about the situation between Booth and Brennan.

"I don't have anything personal against Hannah, but this whole situation is just wrong," Angela said as she took a sip of her Ginger Ale. Her generally all the time upset stomach was only manageable when she drank the popular soda.

"Booth's made his choice, Angela, and we should support him," Cam replied. "He's supported us whenever any of us really needed it."

"But hooking up with a woman in a war zone and then bragging about it like he did?" Hodgins asked. "I don't know, Cam. It seems like something is way off base here. That just isn't like Booth."

"And why is Bren so supportive of this," Angela asked morosely. "I know for a fact that she is miserable about it, but does nothing but give Booth her support."

"There is a reason for all of this," came a fourth voice as Sweets came over to them with a drink. "Sorry. I was getting my drink and overheard."

"Have a seat, Sweets," Hodgins offered.

"Okay, Kid," Angela said bluntly. "Spill. What's going on?"

"Unless it's something that you know of in confidence," Cam said with a direct look at Angela. She may be as upset as the artist about all of this, but she would never want anyone to violate their professional ethics and obligations.

Sweets sighed. "No, nothing in confidence," he grudgingly allowed. "And the one conversation I have had with Dr. Brennan about this was not part of any professional consultation. I just don't want anything I say to cause any more trouble than what I already have."

They all nodded, knowing of the disaster precipitated by Sweets goading Booth into pushing Brennan on the idea of a relationship when he wasn't ready, thereby saying it all wrong and causing Brennan to reject him. Hard. Booth hadn't been the same since that time.

"Is what's happening now related to what happened when Bren rejected Booth?" Angela asked.

"Yes and no," Sweets told them with deliberate vagueness. He could see the confusion on their faces. "What do any of you know about PTSD?" he asked.

"People having serious emotional and psychological problems after having been exposed to traumatic events," Cam offered.

"Simplistic, but accurate enough," Sweets allowed. "Booth is suffering from PTSD on two levels. His coping mechanism is Hannah."

"What?" the three of them asked in unison.

"You all are aware of the fact that Booth is a recovering gambler," Sweets offered. When he saw them nod knowingly, he continued. "When Booth's first stint in the military as a sniper ended, he suffered a very real case of PTSD. The way it manifested itself, and allowed him to cope, was his gambling. The thrill, and the risk, of it allowed him to have the needed rush, or high, that allowed him to get through what he did in the military."

"But that's long in the past, Man," Hodgins said.

Cam was beginning to see where Sweets was going with this, but she decided to let him explain it. It made her sick that a man like Seeley Booth who loved his country more than almost anyone she'd ever known, was now suffering traumatic emotional stress because of what it had asked of him.

"The gambling is, but not the disorder, or the need for coping mechanisms," Sweets explained. "Dr. Brennan gave him a focus almost seven years ago and he was able to remove himself from the destructive behavior that was the gambling."

"So hitting the sheets with some blonde reporter in a war zone is a coping mechanism for his wartime duties this time around?" Angela asked, a little disgusted by it. She didn't normally give anyone grief over a bit of casual sex, or comfort, as the case may be, but the circumstances that were evidently the case here were disturbing to her.

"In a major way it makes sense," Sweets replied. "Doctor Brennan rejected Booth's attempt to begin a serious relationship with her. The friendship became tense and Booth made the decision to try and move on. He accepts the Army's request to go back for one year in Afghanistan, and most likely he had to deal with situations that were very similar to what he experienced when he was in the Army the first time around, despite what the Army had told them they wanted him for. He won't gamble, but he needs a focus. His pride was seriously damaged by Dr. Brennan and he naturally developed a sexual relationship with Hannah to cope with the PTSD which came back when he went to Afghanistan, and prove to himself that someone found him worthy of a relationship, sexual or otherwise."

"But I thought PTSD happened after an event, not during," Angela said.

"Agent Booth has PTSD from the original stint in the military," Sweets explained. "PTSD doesn't really go away in most cases, but rather people develop effective coping mechanisms, and in the therapy arena we attempt to help them deal with the emotions and develop _**benign**_ coping mechanisms. Booth's twirling of his poker chip is an example of one."

"And you noticed this in the midst of all that's been going on since we got back?" Hodgins asked.

"And why is Bren so accepting of Booth's relationship with Hannah?" Angela asked.

Cam just stayed quiet, taking it all in. What Sweets said next didn't surprise her.

"Actually it was Dr. Brennan who recognized it for what it is, and she and I discussed it a few weeks ago," Sweets told them.

"What?" Angela said, a clear look of disbelief on her face.

"Dude, we all know Dr. B despises psychology," Hodgins said, a smirk on his face.

Sweets chuckled. "This is Dr. Brennan we're talking about," he said. "She may not believe in psychology, but can you seriously say that she doesn't know a great deal about it? I am quite sure that when it comes to a subject that has _**any**_ relation to Agent Booth, she is more familiar with the standard, and non-standard literature and techniques than I am. I assure you, the minute that Agent Booth returned and she observed him for a short time, especially after he announced very bluntly that he had a girlfriend, she knew what was happening."

"But wouldn't she try and fix this?" Angela asked, and the others nodded in question, too.

"No," Sweets said firmly. "Dr. Brennan is very sensitive to the fact that she hurt Agent Booth deeply when she rejected him. For the prior five years Agent Booth had stood by her, and despite his interferences and frustrating behaviors, had always supported her outwardly no matter what she was doing. She is not going to do anything that says to him that she is not worthy of his friendship, and she trying to show him the respect he showed her. She also knows that this will not last, as Agent Booth will steadily realize that the relationship is not a genuine one, but rather a coping mechanism. Dr. Brennan wants Booth to be happy, and while she is now willing to admit that she can make him happy, and she is ready to do so, she won't interfere in his efforts to distance himself, for the time being, from the traumatic emotional issues that being in Afghanistan have brought to bear on him. If that means accepting all of this, and supporting him in it, then that is what she will do, even if it creates a great deal of emotional anguish in her."

"But when it ends with Hannah, will she be willing to be with Booth?" Cam asked. That was the question that they all had.

"I believe so," Sweets nodded. "She is showing Booth that he can depend on her, just like she was able to do with him for years. It will show him that she has indeed changed, that she's willing to change, _**and**_ he'll know that she's very willing to stick with him when it really counts, good or bad."

"What if Dr. B finds someone for herself in the meantime?" Hodgins asked. They all knew about how Brennan had dealt with "urges" in the past, though they also knew that she hadn't done so since the two boyfriends episode over two years previously.

"While it is possible, I have my doubts that she will do so," Sweets answered. "At the moment, while she is lonely, and sad, she wants to be in the best position possible to help and support Booth when needed. Having a boyfriend, or even a casual lover, would not readily allow her to do so as her time would be divided, and it would also test her loyalties, something that she knows she has not done well with in the past when it comes to Booth. Her ill-advised relationship with Sully is a case in point."

"So when will Booth hit rock bottom and realize what's happening?" Angela asked.

"Booth has one of the strongest senses of moral and ethical responsibility that I have ever seen," Sweets offered. "I believe that it is very difficult for him to behave as he has in regards to all of us, and in particular Dr. Brennan. It won't be long before it becomes increasingly difficult for him to avoid recognizing what has happened, and what is still happening." Sweets stood up and finished his drink. "Instead of trying to _**help**_, we need to allow Dr. Brennan to do what she feels is necessary, and also allow Agent Booth to discover that what he thought had been lost when Brennan rejected him, is actually right in front of him. If we interfere, we may cause more damage than we can even begin to imagine."

The group watched the young man walk off. They were decidedly subdued. Each of them were thinking of the inner turmoil that Booth was apparently dealing with, and how he was dealing with it. They also were beginning to understand the toll that Brennan was dealing with as she did her best to make amends in the only way that would be truly meaningful to Booth. Each of them decided that they needed to quit worrying about the situation itself, and simply be there for their friends when it all came to a head. They only wished that this whole situation wasn't so laden with personal sacrifices on the part of Brennan.

_A/N: I've met, and am friends with, a number of individuals who suffer from PTSD from their service in Vietnam. In seeing the change in Booth this season, it struck me that Hanson and others just may be, in a roundabout way, presenting that very real issue that still dogs peoples daily lives. Maybe I'm wrong in that supposition, but if I'm right, I hope this short story gives a bit of insight into what may be happening to both Booth and Bones. I hope you enjoyed it. Gregg._


End file.
